President Joe Biden (D) faced intense backlash on Tuesday over a report that said that his administration was going to waive sanctions on a company and its CEO who are responsible for building Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany.
“The State Department will also acknowledge that the corporate entity in charge of the project (Nord Stream 2 AG) and its CEO (Putin crony and former East German intelligence officer Matthias Warnig) are engaged in sanctionable activities,” Axios reported. “However, the State Department will waive the applications of those sanctions, citing U.S. national interests.”
The report said that the Biden administration will instead sanction some Russian ships, even though experts told Axios that the way to stop the pipeline was to sanction the German end users of the gas.
The report sparked widespread backlash against the administration after there had been a bipartisan effort to stop the pipeline because it will give Russian President Vladimir Putin leverage over Europe.
This is a huge deal. Lawmakers on both sides have been pushing Biden to implement the mandatory sanctions to cripple the pipeline. https://t.co/7M0BqxQOGd
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) May 18, 2021
The report comes after the Biden administration blocked the Keystone XL pipeline after taking power in January and just days after a major pipeline in the U.S. fell victim to a cyberattack last week from a group based out of Russia.
Here are just a few of the top initial reactions that the report sparked:
- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy: “President Biden shuts down American pipelines, yet he green lights Russian pipelines. Meanwhile, drivers pay more at the pump for the privilege of depending on foreign oil. This is what it looks like to put America last.”
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): “Stunning. In defiance of U.S. law, Biden is actively helping Putin build his pipeline. Objectively speaking, the Biden administration is shaping up to be the most pro-Russia administration of the modern era.”
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “Biden killed the Keystone Pipeline, but is waiving sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream II. This coming less than a week after the Colonial Pipeline was hacked. Why does Biden believe American pipelines are bad but Russian pipelines are good?”
- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): “If true, President Biden just delivered a huge victory to Vladimir Putin, who will now have a stranglehold over Europe’s natural gas supplies. Then-candidate Biden promised to be tough on Russia, but it is increasingly clear that was just campaign rhetoric. There is absolutely no excuse for giving Putin more leverage over our allies and partners, including Ukraine. It is dangerous, naïve, deceitful, and weak.”
- Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR): “President Biden is caving to Vladimir Putin.”
- Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN): “It’s shocking @POTUS Biden will waive sanctions on a firm running Nord Stream 2, a pipeline the current & prior Admins called a ‘Russian malign influence project.’ I’ve been clear that NS2 poses a grave threat to Euro energy security, Ukraine & NATO.”
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): “Caving to Putin will just encourage him.”
- Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND): “Wow. Why is President Biden handing Putin a major win and getting nothing in return? Nord Stream 2 being built is one of the most pro-Russia, anti-American actions his Administration could take.”
- Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK): “I am alarmed that the Biden Administration plans to waive sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. This failure to act, combined with plans to reduce our defense spending, signals that the U.S. will stand by as Putin seeks to squeeze our European Allies and partners.”
- Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT): “@JoeBiden — waives sanctions for Russian pipeline, kills pipeline in the U.S. Biden’s weak on Russia, tough on America.”
- Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): “Reports are Pres Biden will ignore bipartisan will of Congress [to] waive sanctions on German company building Nordstream2. CEO is Putin crony & fellow fmr commie secret police officer in E Germany. Big win for Putin.”
- Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS): “The Biden administration’s plan to waive sanctions on the Nord Stream II pipeline shows it is willing to allow President Putin and his cronies to gain a stranglehold over Europe’s gas supplies. The Administration cannot turn a blind eye and claim to be tough on Russia.”
- Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI): “This is a huge win for Putin and a blow to the security of our Eastern European allies. Not only is Nord Stream 2 a direct threat to US interests, but this move will be interpreted in Moscow as weakness, which will only invite further aggression. The Biden Admin will regret this.”
- Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR): “If true, POTUS is essentially giving Putin a free pass to weaponize global energy security and continue malign acts. It’s a pro-Kremlin posture. Russia is actively probing at Ukraine’s border, and President Biden is choosing to violate U.S. law to allow this dangerous pipeline.”
- Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI): “President Biden has made it clear that pipelines are bad in America but will waive sanctions for a Russian pipeline. There have been growing concerns about this issue and what it means for European reliance on Russian energy as well as how it will impact Ukraine.”
- Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI): “This is an incredibly ill-advised move, and frankly a baffling concession. Nord Stream 2 strengthens Putin’s strategic leverage over our European allies. Why help him?!?”
- Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX): “@JoeBiden and his unqualified Czar @JohnKerry are working hard to promote Russian companies over American energy independence. This would be a massive geopolitical win for Putin and endanger our allies in Europe. We need to get back to energy dominance not weakness under Biden.”
- Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY): “@POTUS is shutting down US pipelines but doing everything he can to make sure a Russian one is completed. And he’s doing it days after Russian hackers attacked our own energy infrastructure. Russia’s #NordStream2 compromises European energy security.”
- Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX): “Biden cancels the Keystone pipeline & thousands of jobs. Then Russian hackers take over the Colonial Pipeline. …and now Biden is supporting a pipeline that will only increase European reliance on Russian energy? Outrageous.”
- Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX): “. @POTUS ‘ decision to waive sanctions is a dangerous mistake that will only tighten Vladimir Putin’s grip on the global energy market and endanger our allies. POTUS must reverse this decision and hold Russia accountable once and for all.”
- Governor Kristi Noem (R): “Sounds like President Biden will enable a Russian pipeline to move forward… after killing the Keystone pipeline. So much for America-first energy policy. Looks like President Biden is prioritizing Russian energy over American energy and Russian jobs over American jobs.”
- Rebeccah Heinrichs, Hudson Institute Senior Fellow: “How absolutely wild is it that Russians attacked a US pipeline while gas prices were already high and like two days after the US company pays the relatively small ransom Biden lifts sanctions on Nord Stream 2.”
- Glenn Greenwald, left-wing journalist: “This is genuinely a huge gift to Putin: Biden is waiving sanctions which will effectively allow Germany to buy natural gas from the Russian pipeline. Trump spent years trying to sabotage this deal: crucial to Russian interests. Biden is allowing it.”
- Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD): “Bad decision by Biden administration to waive sanctions on Putin crony leading Nord Stream 2 pipeline. We were promised a tougher Russia policy. This is not a good start.”
- Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY):
President Biden on pipelines: https://t.co/6kXlJeu43W pic.twitter.com/ooymO7MK00
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) May 18, 2021